JPH0680208A - Automatic transshipping device for wafers - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten transshipping time for each wafer as well as to prevent the occurrence of defects, the adhesion of foreign matters and the formation of natural oxide films. CONSTITUTION:A space (d) is kept between a connecting stem 1-4 connecting the fork 1-1 of a process jig parallel and the bottom section of the wafer resting groove 1g of the process jig, and a plurality of buffer forks 2 transshipping each wafer 3 from a transport jig fork 5-1 to the process jig is so constituted as to be inserted/pulled out therein/thereof, and also as to be moved up and down. By this constitution, the transshipment of each wafer 3 in a lump into the process jig 1 enables a number of wafers 3 to be transshipped to the process jig in a short time, allows time required for transshipment to be shortened, and prevents the occurrence of detects, the adhesion of foreign maters and the formation of natural oxide films, so that transshipping efficiency is thereby enhanced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer transfer apparatus for transferring and placing a substrate such as a wafer on a film forming apparatus, a heat treatment apparatus or the like in the manufacture of semiconductor devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Semiconductor devices such as ICs and LSIs are manufactured by forming a required film on a silicon wafer or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer) and performing various processes such as heat treatment and cleaning. The wafer is moved between these processes by the wafer automatic transfer device and placed on the processing device of the process to perform required film formation and other processing.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional wafer-automatic transfer apparatus. 01 is a process jig for supporting a wafer 03 in various process stages such as heat treatment and cleaning, and 01-1 is a wafer 03. A plurality of forks that are fixedly placed in an upright or inclined manner with a space between them,
Reference numeral 01-11 is a sub-fork arranged between the forks 01-1, 01-2 is a handle, 01-3 is a connecting rod, and 04 is a transfer hand.

The wafer 03, which is placed on the process jig, is loaded into a required process stage and subjected to a required treatment. 8, 9, and 10 are a plan view, a side view, and A- in FIG. 8 for explaining the main structure of the process jig of FIG.
It is a view from A, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 7 correspond to the same portions. As shown in each of the figures, the process jig 01 has a plurality of forks 01-1 made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz arranged in parallel, and the wafer 03 is seated in the groove 01g formed on the surface of the fork 01-1 so that the forks 01-1 and Place it upright or obliquely with a space in between.

A sub-fork 01-11 is provided between the forks 01-1 provided with the groove 01g, and the connecting rod 01-
In addition to 3, the mechanical strength of the process jig is guaranteed.
11 and 12 are explanatory views of the operation of transferring a plurality of wafers to the process jig, where 04 is a transfer hand and 0 is a transfer hand.
5 is a wafer carrying jig, 05-1 is a carrying jig fork provided with a groove for holding a wafer, 06 is a push-up arm, and 07 is a carry-up jig 05 by a push-up arm 06.
A buffer fork for holding the wafer 03 that has been taken out outside near the process jig 01, and a fork 07-1 that constitutes the buffer fork.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the wafer 03 is accommodated in the wafer carrying jig 05 in an upright or inclined state on the wafer jig carrying fork and brought in. Wafer 0 stored in this wafer carrying jig 05
As shown in (a) of FIG. 11, the push-up arm 3 pushes the wafer 3 upward from inside the wafer carrying jig 05. In this state, the buffer fork 07 operates and moves the fork 07-1 in the direction of the arrow H in the figure to hold the wafer 03.
The wafer 03 is collectively transferred onto the fork 07-1 of the buffer fork 07 by penetrating downwardly and then rising in the direction of arrow V.

The wafers 03 transferred to the buffer fork 07 are carried near the process jig 01 and transferred one by one to the process jig 01 by the transfer hand 04. The transfer hand 04 descends as shown by arrow B in FIG. 12A, horizontally moves as shown by arrow C to grab one wafer 03, and ascends as shown by arrow D, as shown by arrow E in FIG. Move in the direction.

The transfer hand 04 descends in the direction of arrow F above the wafer mounting position of the process jig 01 to mount the wafer 03 on the fork 01-1 of the process jig 01, and then the arrow The wafer 03 is opened by moving horizontally in the G direction. After that, transfer hand 04
Moves in the direction of arrow H, moves horizontally in the direction of arrow I, and returns to the original position shown in FIG. 9A. Then, the above operation is repeated to place the wafer 03 on the buffer fork 07 as the process jig 01. Reprint.

As described above, in the conventional wafer transfer device, the transfer unit of the wafer-3 is 1 per transfer operation.
It is a sheet. An apparatus (furnace body) using the wafer-automatic transfer apparatus is a CVD apparatus or the like. As for this CDV device, for example, "Electronic Material Separate Volume", "VLSI
Manufacturing / Testing Equipment "(published by the Industrial Research Council in 1984, pages 69-74," CDV equipment ").

[0010]

However, in the wafer transfer device of the above-mentioned incoming technique, the transfer of the wafer from the wafer jig carrying fork to the process jig is performed by one wafer per transfer operation. Therefore, when a large number of wafers are transferred, it takes a long time to transfer all the wafers.
For example, it takes about 20 minutes to transfer 100 wafers, so the transfer efficiency is poor, the wafers are inadvertently scratched during repeated transfer operations, and the wafers are exposed to the atmosphere for a long time. Since it is exposed, there is a problem that foreign matter in the air adheres and a natural oxide film is formed.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the transfer time of a wafer to improve its transfer efficiency, and at the same time, to suppress the occurrence of scratches and foreign substances attached to the transfer operation, or the formation of a natural oxide film. It is to provide a transfer device.

[0012]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a buffer fork 2 for transferring a plurality of wafers 3 from a wafer carrying jig 5 to a process jig.
And a process jig 1 for loading a plurality of wafers 3 transferred via the buffer fork 2 into a required process stage and performing a predetermined process, in the wafer automatic transfer device, A connecting rod 1 for connecting a plurality of process jig forks 1-1 forming the tool 1 in parallel
-4 and the bottom portion of the wafer mounting groove 1g of the process jig fork 1-1 are provided with a space d, and the wafer carrying jig 5
The plurality of buffer forks 2 for transferring the wafers 3 from the carrying jig fork 5-1 to the process jig can be inserted and removed and vertically moved between the process jig forks 1-1 within the interval d. A small buffer fork 2-1 having a diameter, and a plurality of wafers 3 placed on the small buffer fork 2-1 of the buffer fork 2 are collectively placed on the process jig fork 1-1. It is characterized by being transferred to.

[0013]

According to the present invention configured as described above, several wafers 3 in the wafer carrying jig 5 are attached to the process jig 1.
Since it is possible to transfer several tens of wafers and the number of transferred wafers can be freely adjusted according to the processing capacity of the process stage, a large number of wafers 3 can be transferred to a process jig smoothly in a short time. The transfer time can be shortened, scratches during the work on the wafer, adhesion of foreign matters, or formation of a natural oxide film can be suppressed, and transfer efficiency can be improved.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the entire structure of an automatic wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention, in which 1 is a process jig, 1-1 is a plurality of process jig forks,
Reference numeral 1-2 is a handle, 1-3, 1-4 are connecting rods, 2 is a buffer fork, 2-2 is a small buffer fork, and 3 is a wafer.

In the figure, a small buffer fork 2-of a buffer fork 2 on which a plurality of wafers 3 are placed.
2 is held above the connecting rod 1-4 at the end of the process jig 1, the process jig fork 1-
1 and the wafer 3 is aligned with the groove at the position where the wafer is placed above the process jig fork 1-1.

In this state, by lowering the buffer fork 2, the lower end edge of the wafer 3 is inserted into the groove of the process jig fork 1-1 and held upright or obliquely. After that, by lowering the buffer fork 2, the small fork 2-2 is lowered below the bottom of the groove 1g of the process jig fork 1-1, and the engagement with the wafer 3 is released.

Then, the buffer fork 2 is pulled out from the process jig 1 by pulling out the small fork 2-2 which is disengaged from the wafer 3, so that the process jig 1 on which the wafer 3 is placed can be moved to a desired process stage. It is ready for loading. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 are a plan view, a side view, and an AA view of FIG. 2 for explaining a main structure of one embodiment of the process jig according to the present invention shown in FIG. The same reference numerals as 1 correspond to the same parts.

As shown in the figures, the process jig 1 has a plurality of forks 1-1 made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz arranged in parallel, and the wafer 3 is seated in a groove 1g formed on the surface thereof. The structure is such that they are fixedly placed in an upright or inclined manner with a space between them. A sub-fork 1-11 is provided between the forks 1-1 provided with the groove 1g to ensure the mechanical strength of the process jig together with the connecting rods 1-3 and 1-4.

5 and 6 are explanatory views of the wafer transfer operation of the automatic wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention, in which 1 is a process jig, 1-2 is a handle, 3 is a wafer, 2 is a buffer fork, 2-1 is a small fork constituting the buffer fork 2, 3 is a wafer, 5 is a wafer carrying jig,
5-1 is a carrying jig fork having a groove for holding a wafer, 6 is a push-up arm, 7 is a push-up arm 6
It is a buffer fork for keeping the wafer 3 taken out of the carrying jig 5 by the process jig 1 near the process jig 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the wafer 3 is accommodated in the wafer carrying jig 5 in an upright or inclined state on the carrying jig fork 5-1 and carried in. The wafer 3 housed in the wafer carrying jig 5 is pushed up from the inside of the wafer carrying jig 5 by the push-up arm 6 to the upper outside indicated by the arrow A, as shown in FIG. 5B.
In this state, the buffer fork 2 operates, and the small fork 2-1 moves in the direction of the arrow H in the drawing to enter below between the carrying jig forks 5-1 holding the wafer 3, and then the arrow V. Wafer 3 by rising in the direction
Buffer fork 2 small fork 2-
Reprinted on 1.

The wafer 3 transferred onto the small buffer fork 2-1 of the buffer fork 2 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2B, it is carried near the process jig 1, and is extended from one end of the process jig 1 between the process jig forks 1-1 of the process jig 1 in the longitudinal direction thereof by an arrow J in FIG.
Insert horizontally as shown in. After inserting the buffer fork 2 to a predetermined position of the process jig fork 1-1 and stopping the process jig fork 1-1, the buffer fork 2 is lowered in the direction of arrow K, so that the wafer placed on the small buffer fork 2-1 is placed on the wafer. 3 is collectively transferred to the process jig fork 1-1 of the process jig 1. At this time, the wafer 3 is inserted into the groove 1g (FIG. 1) provided in the process jig fork 1-1 and held upright or obliquely.

The wafer 3 is attached to the process jig fork 1-1.
After the transfer, the buffer fork 2 is pulled out in the arrow L direction. In this way, the wafers 3 are collectively transferred to the process jig 1 and loaded into the required process stage.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since a large number of wafers can be transferred to the process jig in a short time without using a transfer hand as in the conventional technique, problems such as scratches, foreign matter adhesion, and natural oxide film formation do not occur. By using the wafer automatic transfer device according to the present invention, for example, 100 wafers can be transferred in about 5 minutes, and the transfer efficiency is significantly improved as compared with the prior art. Therefore, the quality and manufacturing yield of the semiconductor device can be improved.

Needless to say, the present invention can be applied not only to the transfer of the wafer of the semiconductor device described above but also to the transfer of the substrate of the liquid crystal display device and other similar devices.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of an automatic wafer transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a main part structure of an embodiment of a process jig according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a main part structure of an embodiment of a process jig according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2 for explaining a main part structure of an embodiment of the process jig according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial explanatory view of a wafer transfer operation of the automatic wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial explanatory view of the wafer transfer operation of the automatic wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention, following FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional wafer-automatic transfer device.

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a main part structure of the process jig of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a side view illustrating a main part structure of the process jig of FIG. 7.

10 is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. 8 for explaining the main part structure of the process jig of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a partial explanatory view of a wafer transfer operation for transferring a plurality of wafers to a process jig according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 12 is a partial explanatory view of the wafer transfer operation for transferring a plurality of wafers to a process jig according to the conventional technique, following FIG. 11.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Process Jig 1-1 Plural Process Jig Forks 1-2 Grip 1-3, 1-4 Connection Rod 2 Buffer Fork 2-2 Small Buffer Fork 3 Wafer 5 Transport Jig 6 Push-up Arm

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A buffer fork for transferring a plurality of wafers from a wafer carrying jig to a process jig, and the plurality of wafers transferred via the buffer fork are loaded into a required process stage. In a wafer automatic transfer device comprising a process jig for performing a predetermined process, a connecting rod for connecting a plurality of process jig forks constituting the process jig in parallel and a wafer mounting groove of the process jig fork. A plurality of buffer forks, each having a space d between the bottoms thereof, for transferring a wafer from the carrying jig fork of the wafer carrying jig to the process jig are arranged in the above-mentioned interval d and between the process jig forks in a longitudinal direction thereof. A small buffer fork having a diameter that allows it to be inserted into, removed from, and moved up and down. An automatic wafer transfer device, wherein a plurality of wafers mounted on a fork are collectively transferred onto the process jig fork.